Is there a new pecking order for cult Napa Cabs? Well, the case could certainly be made after this past Saturday’s Premiere Napa Valley: the part-auction, part-networking-event, part-total-insanity in which small, selected barrels/lots from some of Napa’s most celebrated wine producers are auctioned off to collectors, buyers and importers, as special, once-in-a-lifetime future bottlings. The…
Category: California wine
What The 2011 Class of the Vintners Hall of Fame Tells Us About the California Wine Industry
As most regular 1WD readers know, I’m not much for classic reporting-style articles. In fact, to me the choice between writing a “such-and-such took place on Monday and so-and-so was honored with a whozy-whatsit for their work on the whatcha-ma-jigger” piece or a “let me tell you what I think about X…” piece – namely,…
Robert Parker And California: A Cautionary Tale
The topic is old news now, and while revisiting it runs the risk of sounding a late-to-the-party bell with overtones of “me, too!,” I do think I can offer you something new on the latest (and largest) piece of wine biz news. I’m speaking of the news last week of uber-wine-critic Robert Parker passing on…
The Kick-Ass-ness Cometh (Tasting Two Napa Valley 07s While Musing About A Seventh)
Seventh Lombardi trophy, that is. See, I’ve been a Steelers fan for over 30 years, which places the activity in rare company when it comes to my lifetime activities, bested only by things such as breathing, sleeping and enjoying birthday cake. And for those of you sick of hearing about my NFL alliances (basically everyone…